It is well known in the art to use structures or "crickets" on flat roofing surfaces to divert or direct water in a particular direction or to a particular location or area, e.g., a drain. The cricket shape depends on the particular flat roof configuration it is being installed on and whether there are any other upstanding structures of the like on the roof which must interface with the cricket.
A flat or tapered roof with no structures could employ a cricket 100 such as that depicted in FIG. 1. In this cricket, water is shed in four different directions as shown by the arrows. If a flat roof includes an upstanding structure having a wall surface, a cricket 200 as shown in FIG. 2 might be used, the surface 201 abutting the upstanding structure wall. The arrows shown in FIG. 2 illustrate the diverting of water in two directions.
Although any materials could be used to form these types of roofing crickets, often times a foam building material is used such as "TAPERED E'NRG'Y 2" which is manufactured by NRG Barriers, Inc. of Portland, Me. This roofing material typically comes as a tapered insulation board composed of closed cell polyisocyanurate foam core bonded on each side during the foaming process to fiber reinforced facers. Typically, the insulation board comes in panel shapes in four foot square sections varying in thickness between 1/2" minimum and 4" maximum. The insulating boards also are tapered in slopes ranging from 1/16" up to 1/2" per foot.
Presently, the crickets as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 are cut at the job site where the crickets are being installed. Typically, chalk lines are used on an insulating panel and a utility knife is used to cut the various cricket components which are then pieced together to form the final cricket. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary three step process detailing the prior art technique of forming crickets. This prior art technique is extremely labor intensive and generates a considerable amount of waste material which presents a disposal problem. In addition, due to the high labor content and need for highly skilled personnel, the process is extremely expensive and generates very high workman's compensation rates.
In view of the disadvantages noted above for making crickets, a need has developed to find a way to more efficiently and cost effectively fabricate roofing crickets.
Responsive to this need, the present invention provides a method and apparatus which permits fabrication of a roofing cricket which overcomes the disadvantages noted above. More specifically, according to the invention, a method and apparatus is provided which permits the manufacture of cricket components by first generating the desired cricket component shape by its specific dimensions and controllably cutting a material to be used as the cricket in a sequential fashion. The thus formed cricket components can then be labeled and shipped to the job site for cricket assembly and installation.